Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Increases Stake in Southern Company (The) $SO

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 61.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,625 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Southern were worth $1,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. VeraBank N.A. grew its holdings in Southern by 4.9% during the third quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 4,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Southern by 16.1% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 133,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,650,000 after buying an additional 18,557 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Southern by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 4,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 10,855 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 2,338 shares during the period. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Southern by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. now owns 487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on Southern from $91.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Southern from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Southern from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Southern from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.91.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of Southern stock opened at $90.85 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $100.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $88.35 and a 200 day moving average of $91.31. The firm has a market cap of $100.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.45.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Southern had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The firm had revenue of $6.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.41 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.27%.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.